State legislature fast-tracks special bill to address affordable housing issue in Bend area

By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau — In a move with possible statewide implications, the House  hasvoted to fast-track a Bend affordable housing plan by allowing the city to skip much of the time-consuming land use approval process in state law.

House Bill 3318 was approved 42-16. By the afternoon, the bill had been sent to the Senate Rules Committee. No hearing date has been set as yet.

With the Legislature expected to adjourn by Friday, the bill would need to move extraordinarily swiftly to a vote that would send it to Gov. Kate Brown.

“The fact that it is already in Senate Rules has to make me think it is being seriously considered,” said Erik Kancler, lobbyist for the City of Bend. “It is late, but it has a chance.”

HB 3318 would allow Bend to bring a 260-acre parcel near Stevens Road into its urban growth boundary to be developed as up to 800 units of affordable housing. The other half of the large parcel of land, roughly 380 acres, is already within the boundary and was sold by the Department of State Lands to a developer. The tract sits east of Southeast 27th Street.

The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Knopf, D-Bend, and Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond. They argued on Monday that state action was necessary to alleviate an affordable housing crisis.

“We have the highest home prices in the state and some of the highest rents in the state as well,” Kropf said. “More and more people who work in Bend are no longer able to afford to live in Bend.”

Zika noted that the median home price in Bend was $700,000 — out of reach for all but the wealthy.

Employers had told him of offering jobs to candidates from outside the area, only to be turned down once they discovered the cost of living seriously devalued the salary offered.

People in key community roles were priced out of buying homes or paying rents.

“Firefighters and teachers cannot afford to live where they work,” Zika said.

But opponents of the bill, notably Democratic lawmakers from the Portland metro area, said Bend was making an end run around the state’s land development system that balances development needs with maintaining open space.

If the Bend project is approved, critics said, other cities would follow, saying they needed the waiver because their development issue was also acute.

“This is a precedent-setting, proactive government action, so please remember it’s not just affecting Bend, it’s affecting land use in the state of Oregon,” said Rep. Susan McLain, D-Hillsboro.

Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane disagreed, saying Kropf and Zika had made the case that this was a one-of-a-kind situation.

“Exceptional circumstances that have been fully addressed and thoughtfully addressed from the community sometimes can necessitate this body taking affirmative action, even on land use,” Owens said.

Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, said Kropf knew the needs of Bend and he should get the benefit of the doubt that the city needed action by the Legislature.

“This isn’t Washington D.C. — we don’t have to fight each other,” Smith said. “Let’s help a colleague.”